Pinocchio's Tale
by Nobody Famous
Summary: The first thing he remembered seeing was acceptance in his father's eyes. But as the look faded into disappointment, he vowed to do whatever it took to make his father happy...even if it meant giving him the real Danny Phantom he wanted all along...


IMPORTANT! READ THE FOLLOWING! 

Greetings. I am a new DP author introducing an angsty one-shot. Currently next to me is the entrance to an underground shelter where I will be hiding from the lot of you for the next year or so. Or until I can be sure no one will try to maim me in horrible, bloody ways. Or until I get bored. Whichever comes first.

Take this as a warning. This WILL end badly. It WILL be sad. It WILL be a one-shot and shall not be continued in any way, shape, or form. And it will probably cause a lot of you to want to hurt me.

...BADLY.

WARNING: This fic is NOT for Vlad fans. He won't be portrayed in a very good light. Danny won't show up till around the end, and Sam and Tucker won't make much of an appearance at all. This is NOT a romance. This fic can be hazardous to your fan obsession and should not be read by rabid fangirls of any particular character or pairing type. Also, due to it's depressing nature, this should not be read by anyone. This is not one of those "happy sunshine rainbow" fics. Nor is it one of those "starts out depressing but ends up on a happy/hopeful note" fics. And it's not even a "character death where said character finds peace and happiness in death since he/she is reunited with his/her loved one/s" fic.

This fic is a tragedy. Plain and simple.

Also, to be honest, I am unsure if the main character is technically an OC or canon, but I'll let you decide for yourselves.

Before you start, think about this: We all know how Vlad is. We all know he went so far as to try and clone Danny in order to have the "perfect son". But even if it had worked, would Vlad be satisfied with a simple clone for very long?

Now ask yourself: Do you REALLY want to read this fic?

Remember, you were WARNED.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

He could recall when he woke up and became aware of the world around him. 

Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was the figure of a man. Strangely, the man had pale blue skin and sharpened canines, as well as a white suit and cape that gave him the overall look of a vampire.

But these weren't the things he noticed.

When he first awoke, his gaze was met with that of the man's own blood red eyes. There was something in the man's gaze that forever stayed in his memory.

It gave him a sense of kindness and calm...caring...

The word for it broke out of the current haze of his mind as he realized what it meant.

Acceptance.

Soon enough, memories...feelings...started coming back to him, and he realized that he knew this man.

"Father?" he asked aloud, still not quite used to his voice and unsure if the connection was in fact, wrong.

The man, however, smiled and nodded. "That's right. I'm glad to see you've finally woken up, son."

He frowned, confused. "Son? What...where...?"

Kindly laughter from the man stopped him. "Don't worry, I'll explain everything."

And to his shock, twin rings of light appeared at the man's abdomen and seperated, revealing a middle aged human-looking male.

This man was Vlad Masters, a billionare tycoon and half-ghost. Apparently, as the boy was told, his name was Daniel Masters, and he was Vlad's son.

The first day was shakey and confusing for the boy, but Vlad--no, his Father was helpful and patient in explaining everything. Their father/son relationship. His mother, the love of Vlad's life, was a woman named Maddie, and an idiot who went by the name of "Jack Fenton"--who Daniel quickly grew to dislike, much to Vlad's joy. And the fact that both he and Vlad were half ghosts, or nicknamed "halfas".

THAT was a shocker, though it did explain the weird outfit he woke up in. It didn't stop him from being freaked out when he first reverted to human form, though. But his Father helped him to remain calm, and since then, had begun teaching the boy how to transform and use his powers.

The times that followed, though, were peaceful and happy...if not a bit strange and confusing.

Despite much questioning on several occasions, though, Vlad outright refused to tell Daniel anything about where he came from or why his first memory involved emerging from a cylindrical pod in his ghost form. Nor would he go into more detail about what happened to Maddie or Jack. He also did everything he could to dissuade Daniel from leaving the mansion or making any attempt to try and locate them.

"It's for your own safety." Vlad assured him, and Daniel didn't question it.

So, ignoring the questions and his curiosity, things were great for Daniel. He had his Father, and was growing into his powers, becoming more powerful and skilled with each passing day. And it gave him a feeling of worth, seeing the look of pride and acceptance on his Father's face at the end of each lesson after he successfully pulled off some move or skill he was being taught.

Flight, intangibility, invisibility...he was getting it all down quite easily...

But one day, something happened...and it all went downhill...

---------------------------------------------------------

It was the first time he had seen disappointment in his Father's eyes. 

Things started out normally enough. It was during one of their usual training sessions. This time, he was being taught to create what the older man called "ectoplasmic energy blasts". For some reason, though, he just couldn't form them.

Oh, he tried. He really did. He practiced and trained, but his Father was patient with him, if not only somewhat irked, as it was their fourth session in a row, and yet Daniel still had no luck in forming any sort of energy.

"Just focus Daniel." His Father assured him. "Focus on what you want. Draw the power out and give it form."

So he did. All he really cared about was making his Father proud of him. His train of thought led him to believing that if he could manage this, his Father would be pleased. That was what motivated the boy, and that was what he concentrated on. His entire will was singled on completing this task and making Father proud.

And lo and behold, it WORKED! The energy formed in his hand, and with a mental push, he shot the blast out and hit the target, incinerating it in an instant.

"I...I did it!"

He felt so...ELATED. Spinning around to face Father, he smiled, expecting him to be proud...

...But when he faced him, he found that his Father was not smiling. He didn't look pleased at all. The look in his eyes was one Daniel found he did not like, yet at the time, he didn't understand what it was. There was confusion there, sure. Daniel knew what confusion was, since he felt it on a near-constant basis, but that wasn't it. He later discovered it had a name.

"Disappointment".

Although he couldn't understand just what it was, he had apparently done something wrong.

He didn't understand! 'Why was Father upset? I followed everything he did just as he did it, from the complete destruction of the target to the beautiful red glow of the energy!'

It turned out that was what upset him. Daniel later overheard him talking about it to a ghostly collegue that night.

The color of his blast was red. He had thought that was the way it was supposed to be, since that was the same color as his Father's energy, but apparently, it should have been green.

'...Green?' The boy questioned to himself. 'That was it? What difference does the color of the energy make?'

But that was what Father said. He felt so foolish for not realizing that sooner. Granted, he hadn't known Father wanted it to be green. And he didn't know how to make his hands glow in that color...or any other besides the rich, flaming red.

Maybe he did it wrong...but he remembered that Father's attacks are red. There can't be anything wrong with this color of power, or the elder man wouldn't use it. He was too smart for that.

'So why...' he wondered, 'would he expect me to form green energy blasts?'

Of course, he wasn't about to question the one who gave him life. He didn't understand everything about the situation, but if the color was all that was wrong, he decided he would just figure out how to make his ecto-blasts green. Then his Father would be happy and look at him with acceptance again like the incident never happened.

'It'll be okay.' He told himself before he went to sleep that night, keeping optimistic. 'I'll just spend a bit more time in training working on it. It's no big deal.'

---------------------------------------------------------

He remembered when Father stopped looking at him with anything but disappointment.

It had been a couple of weeks, and he had yet to make any progress in changing his energy from red to green.

Oh, he tried. Day after day, he spent hours on end training, trying to find SOME way to form green energy, the thought of pleasing his Father being his single motivation.

Yet, despite all his efforts, he never could find out why his ectoplasmic energy was red instead of green, nor could he make any progress in changing it to the preferred color.

But after a while, though his Father still seemed a bit unnerved, it looked as though he had let it go for the most part, so Daniel figured it must not have mattered that much after all.

Vlad, deciding that the fact the boy could at least form the energy-despite the strange color alteration-should be considered good enough, continued on with the training, teaching Daniel how to use his various other abilities.

The training was long, and Daniel found he felt more and more tired by the end of each lesson, but his Father was looking at him with acceptance again.

To him, that was all that mattered.

So, for a while, at least, Daniel was happy again. He still had his Father, and was constantly improving his skills and developing new techniques that made the old man proud.

But then, it happened.

That day, Daniel was still trying to succeed in forming ice crystals like his Father told him he should be able to do. How the man knew, he wasn't sure, but he didn't think much of it.

Several sessions passed, and still no luck with this power. His Father had started to become greatly annoyed, getting angrier and angrier with each session that ended in failure.

This was his tenth try, and he was bound and determined to make it WORK.

Just like when training in using his ectoplasmic energy, he focused, looking deep within himself. This time, he felt something, and like Father had told him, he took hold of this strength and let it free.

Finally, he felt the power flow from his hands. But it wasn't the coolness of ice.

It was warmer.

And it BURNED.

He stared, eyes widening as fire emerged from his hands and shot towards the target, engulfing it in flames. Within the span of a few seconds, the target was completely aflame and unsalvageable, now just a blackened, still burning husk of its former self.

'Was...that supposed to happen?' Daniel wondered. He turned to Vlad to ask him. He had some hope that his Father would simply be glad he pulled it off at all. At worst, though, he was expecting that look of disappointment he had started to become accustomed to. Or maybe even an explanation as to why his powers were reacting this way.

What he didn't expect, was the blow that sent him careening back, clutching his face. He stared at his Father in confusion and hurt, wondering why the man had done that.

Vlad, however, just glared at him, eyes blazing similar to the fire engulfing what used to be the target. "Can't you do anything right?!" He snarled, before spinning around and storming out of the room, leaving Daniel alone, staring after him.

"What...did I do wrong?" He asked aloud to the empty room.

He never did get an answer. For the rest of the day, Vlad had holed himself up in his lab, researching something or other. Only vague mutterings could be heard from beyond the door, leaving Daniel confused and feeling a sense of...abandonment.

That night, Daniel lied awake on his bed, assuring himself that was not the case. It just couldn't be.

'It'll be okay.' He told himself, wincing in pain when he poked at the injury. 'Father is just mad right now. He didn't mean it. I'll just work harder at it and do it right. Then he'll be happy again and things will go back to how they were before. It'll be okay.'

---------------------------------------------------------

...He could remember when Father stopped looking at him completely.

Immediately after the previous incident, he upped his training once more, only instead of trying to change the color of his energy, he was trying to change the element he could control. As the days passed, and Father's anger remained, he became more obsessed with getting it right in order to get things back to the way they were before.

The poor boy never knew that his own efforts and single-minded focus were working against him the whole time. He had no idea that the color of a ghost's energy showed not only their level of strength, but obsession, too.

All this time, the only person he had...the only constant in his life, was his Father. His soul purpose for existing was to be the "perfect" son to Vlad.

And so, that was all he really cared about.

His...obsession, so to speak.

But Daniel never consciously understood that, or that his different areas of power were actually consequences of that obsession. And for all the experience and information Vlad had collected over the years, apparently he didn't know it, either.

So Daniel continued to train and push himself to do the impossible and change his powers to suit his Father's specifications. Every day, he would work harder and harder, exhausting himself more and more, all to no avail. And each day that passed only left him more depressed...but still all that much more determined to suceed.

But as time passed, he slowly realized something was wrong.

Poor Daniel just couldn't understand why he was getting weaker. He would get tired much too quickly, and his attacks no longer had the same amount of force behind them. When he told his Father of this one of the few times he saw him, the man's expression changed from annoyed to worried for a short time, and he took Daniel straight to the lab to run a few tests.

What he found wasn't good, apparently, because Father went into a rage that frightened him. Only wanting to help the man who created him, he tried to ask what was wrong, only to have the extreme fury brought down on himself.

Father looked at him with such DISGUST, like he had done something unforgivable. He, of course, didn't know what he did, and tried to apologize just like he was told he should whenever he knew he did something wrong.

But this only caused his Father to become even more angry, and he said a lot of things the poor boy, in his painful and delirious state, couldn't make out. Unfortunately, some of what the man said was horribly clear...

Despite the happiness he felt in the duration of his time spent with his Father, he had always wondered many things. Where did he come from? Why was it he knew things but had no specific memories of before he woke up? If this 'Maddie' really was supposed to be his mother, where was she? Why did Father hate 'Jack' so much? Who was this 'Phantom' that Father and his employees whispered about when they thought he couldn't hear? How could he be half-ghost? And why did Vlad always try to change the subject and get him to stop asking questions?

...Now he wished he hadn't known at all...

Daniel, was in fact, a clone. A mere shadow of another boy.

The son of his supposed mother, Maddie, and the idiot, Jack.

The 'Phantom' spoken of in whispers who he was unknowingly compared to.

His 'Brother' of sorts.

A half ghost hero who had stopped all of Father's plans to kill Jack and make Maddie his.

Danny Fenton...

He...he couldn't believe it.

He was his own person, dammit! He wasn't some copy!

At least...that's what he tried to tell himself...

But then he saw the files, and it was all there.

He was exactly identical to this other boy, from his messy hair to his small frame. The way his eyes would glow when he was angry or upset. The half ghost powers and the exact same transformation between his two forms. The ghost form's outfit was the same as well.

Even the little things he noticed about himself were just like 'Brother'. His less than adequate math skills. His witty banter. His fascination with the stars. His love of a particular online video game. Even his dream of becoming an astronaut.

...But none of it was really HIS.

They all belonged to a 14 year old in Amity Park who really had no idea the lengths Vlad had gone through to get the son he always wanted. As far as he knew, Vlad was still recovering from their previous encounter, and still plotting the next one.

And that's exactly how Vlad wanted it. He originally had no intention of allowing Danny to discover that another clone had been made. Nor did he wish Daniel to find out about Danny, or that he was in fact, his clone.

So why reveal it all now?

The answer was...less than pleasant...

Being a half ghost clone, Daniel was...unstable. Using his powers too much would make him end up like the "others". His "genetic makeup" was deteriorating. Despite all the "alterations" his Father had made, Daniel would eventually "revert to his original state".

Not being a scientist, he didn't understand most of it, but one thing was clear.

He was imperfect.

Incomplete.

FAKE.

Since then, Father wouldn't look at him.

Wouldn't listen to him either.

Actually...he ignored the boy's very presence altogether, trying to work out all the problems in the project so that he could do it again and get it right the "next time".

It was like...Daniel never existed to him at all...

Any and all attempts to try and get his Father's attention proved futile. The man either focused completely on his work or, if he was angered enough, would sic his other minions on his former son. After being beaten to near death the first couple of times, he had given up trying to get Vlad to at least acknowledge him, knowing he was useless to his Father. Since that realization, he spent the next few days hiding away in his room, unsure as to his place in the world...

His place used to be by his Father's side...but what was to become of him now that the only important person in his life deemed him worthless?

His Father was all he had...

All he had ever known...

The only thing he wanted was to make his Father proud.

But the very man he looked up to and cared about...

...really didn't want him?

He winced at the thought.

That hurt.

He...

...wasn't real?

He clutched his chest, breathing hard.

That hurt even more.

Then...what was he there for? Why was he created?

...To...give Father...what he wanted...

But what did his father want?

Then realization hit.

He wanted a son. A real one.

Not a fake.

Not a copy.

Not an imitation.

He wanted the real halfa...his 'Brother'.

The one whose DNA he had been created from.

Danny Phantom.

Daniel mulled it over in his mind. He just couldn't be what his father expected him to be, though it wasn't for lack of trying. But 'Brother' was everything his Father wanted without any real effort, but wouldn't join him for some reason.

'...Maybe,' he thought, '...if I brought the real Danny for Father...he would be happy?'

But from what Daniel had learned by looking through his files, 'Brother' hated Father. He wouldn't come willingly.

Suddenly, it clicked.

'I could make him come.'

He wasn't completely sure about that. He knew Phantom was strong, and had been around longer than he had. He had more experience, more training, and all around more skill than a clone like himself.

'...But if I beat him...' He wondered. 'If I proved I was stronger...maybe Father would see that I am more than a copy. Maybe he wouldn't care about Danny anymore...' He smiled at the thought. 'Maybe he would look at me with acceptance once again...'

It was settled. He was heading for Amity Park.

---------------------------------------------------------

In two hours, Daniel made it from Vlad's Mansion to the town of Amity park.

In two hours and ten minutes, he had civilians running for their lives, screaming in pure terror.

In two hours, ten minutes, and a matter of seconds, Daniel was attacked from behind, and found himself crashing face-first into a brick wall. Despite the pain, he was actually happy as he turned around to face his adversary, knowing full well who it would be.

Danny Phantom was on the scene.

Daniel smirked. "Well it's about time..."

Upon seeing just who the cause of all the trouble was, Danny froze.

"Another clone?!" He gasped. He honestly thought that Danielle was the last one left.

"That's right," Daniel sneered, clentching his fists in anger. "Another imperfect creation of you!"

"W-why are you here?"

"Simple. To defeat you! Then I'll be able to prove my worth to Father!" He powered up a red blast into his hand.

Danny blinked. "Father...? You mean Vlad?"

"If that's what you call him, though I don't know why he'd waste his time on you! But if I win, then he can be happy with me and he won't want you anymore!" He shouted, shoving his arm forward and with it, sending the attack hurtling towards Danny.

"Do you really think that would work?" Danny scoffed, able to dodge the attack easily enough. Remembering his past experience with Danielle and the other clones, he knew about their devotion to Vlad and his desire for perfection. "I KNOW Vlad! He'll never be satisfied with anything you do!"

"You know NOTHING!" Barked Daniel, sending another red blast at his opponent, and knocking him back a few feet. "I'm still going to beat you! Then my life will have meaning again!"

Danny coughed, frowning at the other version of himself. He tried to keep on the defensive, not really wanting to fight. After all, it wasn't really the other's fault, but he still had to be prepared to protect himself and the many innocent bystanders if he couldn't reason with the wayward clone.

"What's the point of such an existance if you have to prove you're better than someone else to give it merit? It's not worth it!"

Daniel only grew angrier at that. Oh sure, it was easy for HIM to say. He already had a family and a perfect life! He didn't understand what it was like to know you were a mistake in the eyes of the only person who mattered to you. "Shut UP!" He raged, focusing his energy into his fist to prepare another attack.

"You don't have to do this!" Danny tried to plead, but knew it was pointless as the energy blast went flying towards him. He quickly formed a shield to block it, then counterattacked with a punch of his own.

After that, Daniel didn't take much notice of just how many hits he landed on Danny, or vice versa. The fight raged on for a good while and he didn't know or care how long it had been. He was wearing the other ghost boy down, sure, but he knew he was weakening as well. It all seemed to be one big blur until Danny finally gained the upper hand and blindsided him with a blast from the right, sending him slamming face-first into the dirt below.

'So...close!' Daniel groaned mentally, pushing himself up onto his knees. 'I...can't give up now!' He raised his head to face his opponent, sending him the darkest glare he could muster, wondering why the real Phantom wasn't attacking while he was down.

When his eyes met Danny's, he saw the other boy staring down at him with a strange look that made him stiffen in horror.

It wasn't disappointment like the way Vlad looked at him lately. Nor was it fear like the humans showed when they first saw him. It wasn't even anger, though that was what he was most expecting at that point from the self-proclaimed hero.

No, he realized with a start. Danny Phantom was gazing down at him with PITY.

That bastard PITIED him!

He felt his blood boil at that. He wanted to scream, or hit him, or at least do SOMETHING to remove that look from the other's eyes.

Daniel hated that look. Hated the feeling associated with it. Somehow, it was just as bad as the disappointment on Father's face back when the man would still look at him.

He raised a shakey fist to fire another shot, but couldn't muster up the strength to form the energy. In fact, he was distracted by a stray thought.

Why couldn't he stand up...?

Suddenly, Danny gasped, the look instantly changing from pity to horror. But somehow, Daniel knew it wasn't because of the attack he was preparing.

So why was the great Danny Phantom scared?

Looking down at his legs in growing horror, he found his answer.

Slowly but surely, he was melting. Both of his legs up to his knees were gone. He gasped in horror as he realized this must be what Father had meant when he said the boy was being reduced back into his original state. He just couldn't fight anymore. It was at that moment he finally knew...

His Father was right.

He was an imperfect replica.

"Why...?" He cried out as darkness clouded his vision and he started losing all feeling in his body, bit by bit. He managed to focus just enough to gaze upon the one he was modeled after.

The one his father really wanted.

The one he hated with all his heart for being REAL.

The one before him was the true blue Danny Phantom...

While he was simply a copy.

And no amount of practice, power, or DNA could change that...

Deep down, he knew it, too, though that certainly didn't make things any easier.

Twin tears slid from his eyes, but he didn't have to see them to know they were glowing green. Ectoplasm. Just further hit the awful truth home.

For a fake could not cry real tears.

"Why couldn't I have been you?"

If he actually expected an answer, he never got it before everything faded to black...

Sam and Tucker, worried for their missing friend, finally found him in human form, sitting in the middle of a clearing and staring blankly at a spot on the ground. They didn't understand why he was there...

Or why his gaze rested on a green puddle...


End file.
